Evgeny Kuznetsov
| birth_place = Chelyabinsk, Russia | team = Washington Capitals | league = NHL | ntl_team = RUS | draft = 26th overall | draft_year = 2010 | draft_team = Washington Capitals | career_start = 2007 | former_teams = Traktor Chelyabinsk }} Evgeny Kuznetsov (born Yevgeny Yevgenyevich Kuznetsov on May 19, 1992) is a Russian professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing Career Evgeny made his professional debut in the 2009–10 season with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL. That season, he played 35 games, totaling eight points. After his performance for Traktor, he was ranked as the third-best European skater by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft where he was eventually selected in the first round (26th overall) by the Washington Capitals. In the 2011–12 season, Evgeny was selected to the KHL All-Star Game. During the season, he also won the Continental Cup & bronze medals with his team. It was reported that during the 2013–14 season, he earned $3.8 million to play for Traktor. On March 8, 2014, Evgeny signed an entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals. On March 25, 2014, he scored his first career NHL goal, which happened to be a short-handed goal against the Los Angeles Kings with under a minute left to tie the game, but the Capitals eventually lost the game 5–4 in the shootout. On April 23, 2015, Evgeny scored the first and second Stanley Cup playoff goals of his career against the New York Islanders. In the same game, he also had an assist in an eventual 5–1 Washington win. On April 27, 2015, he scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-finals against the Islanders in the same series, advancing the Capitals to a Conference Semi-finals match-up against the 2014–15 Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers. During the 2015–16 season, Evgeny was named to his first All-Star Game as a replacement for Alexander Ovechkin, who pulled out due to a lower-body injury. Career Statistics Regular season and playoffs International International Play Russia}} Evgeny played for Russia at the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships held in Saskatchewan, Canada. He finished the tournament with two goals and was selected as the player of the game for Russia after the preliminary round game against Austria. Kuznetsov again represented Russia in the 2011 World Junior Championships in Buffalo, New York. He was the only 18-year-old on the Russian team; every other player was 19. He finished second in the tournament in scoring, with four goals and seven assists in seven games. Evgeny also had three assists in the gold medal game, in which Russia overcame a 3–0 deficit in the third period against Canada to win 5–3. He was named by the tournament coaches as one of the three best players on his team and was named to the tournament all-star team by the media. Evgeny was also named the best player in the match against Norway, in which he recorded one goal and one assist. He finished tied for second in the tournament in scoring, alongside teammate Vladimir Tarasenko with four goals and seven assists. He then served as team captain for Russia at the 2012 World Junior Championships, the third year in a row he participated in the tournament. On December 29, 2011, in a game against Latvia, Evgeny recorded three goals and six assists for nine points in an emphatic 14–0 win for Russia which set a record for most points by a Russian player at the World Juniors, as well as the second-highest total in a game in the history of the tournament (one point behind Peter Forsberg of Sweden, who set the record in 1993). Accolades Category:1992 births Category:Washington Capitals players Category:Washington Capitals draft picks Category:Traktor Chelyabinsk players Category:Russian ice hockey players